In the Blood
by Moczo
Summary: Co-written with RadiantBeam.  What Sakura wanted was a calm vacation in London, a chance to bond with her sister. What she got was vampires, drugs, magic and murder... and a chance to still bond with her sister. Pretty normal for the Tohsaka family.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: What is this? A Moczo/Beam Collaboration? Ha, ha, awesome, time for some more awesome crack, and... w****hat? It's a... a serious work? **

**Oh, my. **

**And now, without further ado, we are proud to present...**

* * *

**In the Blood. **

**Prologue**

The hunger was unbearable tonight.

The first night, it had been fine. No problem at all. No, _better _than fine, perfect. The strength, the speed, even things such as sight and hearing burned with an electric clarity.

It went without saying that he had gone out again the next night; just _being _in the city was an experience when he was like this. But he had begun to notice something about the people he saw, looking down from the buildings as he leapt between them like some kind of God.

He noticed that to his new, heightened senses... they had begun to smell very, very good.

He'd been scared, by that. What his body told him to do was monstrous. And so, he had tried to stop there. Stay in at night, forget the rush. But God forgive him, he just couldn't. He had tasted something special, and he just couldn't give it up. He just couldn't.

It was his third night. And the hunger was unbearable. But at least his body was telling him exactly how to sate it...

He had followed her for awhile, now. She was pretty. Young. She lived in a good neighborhood, and didn't see any problem at all with walking to the pub at night; she didn't drink enough to worry about losing her way, and it wasn't far from her flat. He knew this because he had followed her every step of the way, both ways. He told himself that he was trying to talk himself out of it, but...

Really, on some level, it was just the thrill of the hunt. That realization made him feel alternating sensations of deep revulsion and primal joy.

She walked, drunk and tired. She never looked behind herself, never looked into the shadows. It probably wouldn't have saved her if she had, but she _might_ have at least seen when one shadow descended from the rooftops, into the next alley she would pass, just before her apartment building. She might have turned the other way, found somewhere with people, run for safety.

She hobbled near the entrance to the alleyway, humming a bar song, her stride slightly uneven, but firm. There was nobody on the street with her.

In a blur of black and red, he snapped out from the alley, clamped one hand on her mouth and the other around her waist, and dragged her into the shadows with him. He was stronger, faster, had the element of surprise, and he could see with perfect clarity even in the dark. She was drunk, tired, and in shock. She tried to struggle, but it was a doomed effort from the start.

He bit down onto her neck, as hard as he could, her screams muffled by the hand clamped down on her mouth like a vise.

She stopped struggling quickly.

The blood was so, _so _good.

* * *

"Well?" The man in the shadows asked. His voice was deep, and resonant, but somehow not _quite _right... it had a hollow quality to it, as though he were shouting from the other end of a long tunnel.

"Demand has doubled over the last two weeks. And this is on the heels of tripling the month before." Said the robed man. His voice, in contrast, was not only human but rather pleasant. Lightly accented, almost melodic; not a voice for dark dealings in abandoned buildings. "Profits are skyrocketing. Word-of-mouth is in our favor."

"Ugh. How tedious! I've told you before, I care little for the accountant's craft. Tell me what I want to _hear_, man!"

The robed man sighed. "There have been seventeen deaths that I have been able to confirm since the product was introduced, and nearly thirty more in critical condition. Mostly dregs... the homeless, vagrants, illegal aliens, people who won't be missed."

"Well... it's a start."

"… Only a _start_?"

The shadowed man smirked. The darkness was so absolute that even when he smiled, nothing was seen.

"Why, of course. Did you really think we'd only keep this limited to such trash? Where's the fun in that?"

"... this attitude is troublesome."

"I prefer to think of it as 'inspired'." The shadowed man said. "You love this dreary business of concoction and economics, my friend, but _I_ am an artiste. And while there is a certain plebian amusement to be taken from sweeping aside garbage, well... I have _never _seen a finer artwork than the palaces of the wealthy and powerful wreathed in flame. They're so secure. So confident. They never see it coming. The surprise is the best part, don't you think?"

"... they also have the most disposable income."

"Ugh. I find myself trapped! My soul constrained! Gods above and devils below, I am trying to make _art _and I am partnered with an _accountant_!"

The robed man rolled his eyes. _Drama queen_, he thought. Out loud, he said, "You have the samples I need, at least?"

"No. _Soul_." The shadowed man said. A gloved hand slid a black leather attaché case across the floor. "That should be enough for another two batches. Don't waste it, providing requires a rather personal, painful touch."

The robed man clicked open the case, looking in to see over a dozen small sealed vials of a liquid that might have been blood, or might have been something just a _bit _too dark. "As always, your sacrifice is appreciated."

"Is it? Is it _really_?"

The robed man simply sighed.

* * *

It was, all things considered, a beautiful day in London.

Enjoying the scene right outside the airport window—even if it was just a couple of planes taking off into the air and landing—Sakura set down her travel bags and took a moment to stretch, exhaling deeply. The sensation of her spine cracking out and her muscles relaxing felt good, after so many hours of being in the air, in the tightness of a plane.

As she lowered her hands from above her head, right on cue, her cell phone lit up and rang.

She scooped it up from her bag and checked the caller id, not particularly shocked when she recognized the name that was listed there. Smiling in spite of herself, she flipped it open and brought it to her ear. "Hello, Senpai."

"Sakura?" He was surprised. "How did you know it was me?"

"Your name came up on my caller ID." Sakura pushed hair out of her eyes. "I landed safely, no worries."

"Oh, did you?" Shirou seemed to sigh in relief. "Good, good. You didn't feel sick or anything, right? You got through the flight okay?"

"Yes, Senpai."

"Because it was your first time flying, and sometimes—"

He might have been annoying, with how he worried and fretted; he should have been annoying. Sakura found his concern was like sugar to her. "Senpai. Shirou. Honey. I have been through greater trials in my life than a plane ride. I even made it through most of them." She said, making sure to let the laughter leak into her tone so he knew she wasn't genuinely angry.

"... I know. I just worry. We haven't been apart for more than a few hours at a time since... you know. I know it's silly to worry, but I can't help it."

"It's silly in a good way, at least." Sakura said, grinning. "But I'll be fine. I have nee-san's address, and everything is labeled clearly enough. Good thing I practiced my English, right?"

She could have sworn she heard Rider grumble something in the background that made Shirou chuckle nervously, and didn't ask him what she'd said; the poor woman had suffered enough, being an unwilling listener to her English lessons as she practiced.

Sakura still thought she'd been pretty okay, considering how short notice it was. Taiga had been a huge help.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Shirou asked. "I mean, I know you wanted to surprise Tohsaka, but…"

"It'll be fine, Senpai. Even if Nee-san is annoyed at first, I'll just wear her down so she sees things my way." She'd gained experience in that, during the time Rin had been home on break. Turned out her older sister was _far _softer than her icy exterior showed.

"I still wonder what you did to her over break to convince her to actually listen to somebody for a change. Your sister is the most stubborn person I've ever met."

Sakura laughed. "I have my ways." She checked her watch, noting the time. "Ah, I have to go now, Senpai, I need to get to my hotel and drop my things off before I visit Nee-san. I'll call you around dinner, okay?"

"Yeah, okay, sounds good." Shirou paused. "Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

Those words never failed to make her heart swell, even after two years. "I love you, too. Talk to you later."

"Talk to you later. Tell Tohsaka we all say hi, and want her to come home soon. She should visit more often."

"Will do." She said cheerfully. Then, with a smirk, said, "And if she disagrees, I'll just twist her arm some more."

"My girlfriend is an evil mastermind."

"And you love it." She said, clicking the phone closed with a smile.

Now then. She didn't have a license to drive in this country, so she would have to find a taxi, check into the hotel, find _another _taxi, walk around the Clock Tower until she found Rin's room...

"Good thing I slept on the plane." She said dryly. She lifted her bags and followed the signs to the exit.

At least she would get to see some of London outside the window? Living with Senpai, it had been ages since she'd seen Western architecture. And she wanted to see some of the big, touristy places... Big Ben, the Tower of London... _oh! _And the western cuisine! Hopefully she'd pick up some fun new recipes to try when she got home.

Hey, a trans-continental trip was pricey. It couldn't _all _be about her sister.

* * *

Rin was not, all things considered, having a good day. And it was only the middle of the afternoon.

Not a promising start.

She blamed it pretty squarely on Zelretch. No matter _what _her mentor seemed to think and how he ran his own life, she needed _sleep_, dammit. She was running on her second day of pulling an all nighter, and she was seriously beginning to think that drinking an ungodly amount of tea wouldn't get her through it.

She was tired, she was sore from the training, and to top it all off, she was pretty sure she had the beginnings of a headache pounding at her temples.

Oh yes. Rin was having a very, _very _bad day.

She was contemplating the wisdom of just skipping school for the day and sleeping when she heard someone knocking at her door. She ignored it, at first, thinking it was just the sensation of pain singing through her forehead.

When the knocking sounded again, though, she groaned, cast one last longing look at her bed, and finally went and opened the door. "Hello?"

Sakura smiled brilliantly, looking amazingly cheerful and almost glowing. "Hi, Nee-san!"

"… Hi, Sakura," Rin said, her brain somewhat lagging behind her mouth at the moment.

Then, something in her brain clicked.

… _Wait._

"Sakura?"

The younger girl blinked. "Yes, Nee-san?"

Okay. Okay, yes, Sakura was really here. This wasn't just a figment of her sleep deprived brain, her sister was actually standing in front of her. Which meant Sakura was in London. Which meant…

_Oh. Shit._

"Sakura," Rin said very, very calmly. Almost _too _calmly.

"Uh, yes?"

"I have one question, and it will determine whether or not I attempt jumping out my window to escape, screaming like a little girl."

"…. Okay?"

"Is Rider with you?"

"Rider?" Sakura frowned. "Ah, no, I came by myself, she's back home with Fujimura-sensei and Senpai."

"Then I won't have to consider jumping out my window."

"… Something happened between you two, huh." It was a statement, not a question.

"I don't want to talk about it," Rin mumbled, and swore her headache increased in intensity. "... do you wanna get lunch? I don't think I'm going to be getting back to sleep."

"Oh! Oh! Can we have fish and chips? I want to try something 'British-y'."

Rin sighed a little at Sakura's blatant, puppyish enthusiasm. "Tourists."


	2. Curiosity and Cats

**Chapter One: Curiosity and Cats**

Rin had been foolish to think she could just walk a tourist with cash to burn across London. Sakura was the sole heir of the Matou family fortune, plus the money from selling their estate, plus access to Shirou's own fairly strong finances. She had plenty of money, and she was more than interested in spending it. And so it was that lunch was delayed by a pursuit that appealed far more to her little sister...

"What do you think?" Sakura said, twirling to show off her purchase.

Rin looked upon her sister's... well, it was on her chest, so it was probably a shirt. It looked a bit like someone had melted down a Union Jack and poured it onto a shirt-shaped piece of fabric, only not as classy and with more glitter. Rin sighed. She knew that Sakura hadn't travelled much, and had not wanted to discourage her tourist impulses. Dutifully, she had stayed silent through giant hats, postcards that Sakura would certainly never send, and roughly 10,000 photos of everything that caught her eye, which was everything. But as a good sister, the line had to be drawn somewhere.

"Sakura, that shirt looks like the British flag threw up on you."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and frowned. "Why, hello there, random person who clearly can't be my sister because she's too _rude_. My name is Sakura, and I'm the girl who _isn't _judging you based on appearances."

Rin stayed firm. "You just don't want to admit I'm right."

"... ... well, it... erm... does clash a bit with... every skirt I own."

"... you already paid for it?"

"Yes..."

"Maybe we can get you some pants." Rin said with a sigh.

"Oh! I saw this great pair of sequined..."

"Stop right there! I meant _jeans_."

"But... those other pants are shinier."

"And they look like the 1970's attacked your legs."

"... some nice men in the store said disco was coming back..."

"_Sakura_."

"... I'll get some jeans."

"I know a place we can get a pair. Pretty cheap."

Sakura stared. "Nee-san…"

Rin squirmed. "What?"

"You wear _pants_?"

_"Sakura!"_

Sakura snickered as her sister blushed and stammered. Really, she knew it was a little mean, but Rin was far too entertaining when she was all worked up.

"Take me to the jeans, then, Nee-san. Maybe we can get you some while we're at it."

"Oh, shut up."

* * *

It hurt.

It hurt.

It hadn't been like this before. The 'morning after' had been fine the first two nights. No problems at all; Hell, he hadn't even felt tired. But this time...

The sun _hurt. _It felt like walking into an oven just to step outside. His whole body ached. He felt impossibly sensitive, to the point that even the most basic stimulation felt like being rubbed down with steel wool. But that was almost welcome distraction from what he felt on the _inside..._

_Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. _

_I killed someone. _

He didn't want to believe it. The whole thing seemed like a nightmare now, in the light of day. The thirst... the hunt... how _sweet _her blood at tasted.

_But it wasn't a nightmare, was it? The blood was on my shirt this morning. I could still taste it on my breath. I... I ripped that girl's throat open and I... _

He'd thrown up upon realizing it. Somehow, he doubted that was a huge comfort to his... his...

_Say it. My victim. _

His victim.

This… this had to be the effect of the high wearing off. Yes. That was why it hurt more than it had before, during the first two nights. Maybe he had overdosed, or maybe his body needed more to maintain the same feeling as before.

And his body was already beginning to develop a tolerance for just this dosage…

He felt a chill run down his spine, an icy cold finger.

… He needed more. God help him, he couldn't fight it. This sensation was too… too _everything_. He couldn't go back to how he'd been before. How _normal _he'd been before. Not when he could now be considered some kind of god.

_Or some kind of monster_.

He remembered her dead, dull eyes and shuddered.

... It had been an accident. His control had been low. It wouldn't happen again.

He was certain it wouldn't.

And deep down, he knew it was a lie.

* * *

Sakura looked far too proud of herself. In her defense, the jeans _did _look better than her skirt had with the shirt, but the shirt itself remained a crime against fashion.

_Maybe she likes the attention. _Rin thought. _After years of trying to stay under everyone's radar, it could just be she just... loves having all eyes on her. And they... _Rin tried hard not to snicker at the sight of yet _another _pedestrian openly gaping at her sparkly, sparkly sister. _They certainly are..._

"You really won't consider putting your other shirt back on? Please?" Rin asked, despite knowing it was futile.

"You're just jealous of my amazing style." Sakura said. She was practically skipping, despite the weight of far too many shopping bags. 

"Jealous. Really."

"That I've only been in England for five hours,and I already look more British than you." Sakura said.

"Because you have a giant sparkly Union Jack plastered across your chest!" 

"And I make it look _good_."

"No, you make it look like you're colorblind. The only reason nobody is outright laughing is that the shirt is skintight and the Boob Fairy decided to be extra nice to you when she handed out the genes." Rin said with a smirk.

"Green is not your color, nee-san." Sakura said primly.

Rin's smirk became a genuine smile. Despite her fatigue and her company's blatant touristness, she had to admit she _was _kind of having fun. "Hey, we got so caught up in your shopping spree, we kinda skimmed over lunch. You hungry?"

Sakura practically squealed, "_Fish and chips?_"

Rin chuckled. "Oh, fine. We'll do all the stereotypes. But you're in for an unpleasant shock if you're expecting it to be gourmet cuisine. The Clock Tower is still _technically _a school, and most of the cafes and pubs around here are student quality."

Still, there were a few places in walking distance Rin liked well enough, and it didn't take long to find one where Rin was vaguely sure the chips weren't just a pound of liquid grease molded to look food. Just to be safe, she got a cold turkey sandwich for herself; ever since the unpleasant discovery that 'black pudding' was not actually pudding, she had learned to stick to food that was simple and that even a bad cook couldn't easily screw up. _Sakura can be the brave one, I want my stomach to survive this. _

Sakura leaned in to take a big whiff of her deep-fried abomination. "Mmmmmmm... smells wonderfully unhealthy. Perfect vacation food."

"All the calories go to your chest anyway.".

"Oh my! Two boob jokes in one day. You really are jealous. Well, we can't all be as healthy as I am." Sakura said, eyes glittering.

"More like I just missed having you around to tease." Rin said, returning the jab in good cheer. She took a small sip of her tea, then a somewhat larger bite of her sandwich (She _was _hungrier than she'd realized).

"I've missed you too, nee-san. And senpai, of course," Sakura said. Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "And Rider."

Rin almost choked.

* * *

_Well, that certainly got a reaction._

As a general rule, Sakura liked it when the people she loved were happy. She herself was happy, far happier than she had ever dreamed she would be, and it only seemed fair that her loved ones should be just as happy as she was. And it had not escaped her notice that lately, Rider was not happy.

And Sakura was a smart girl; she'd seen the looks Rider and Rin had been giving each other when her sister had come home from school during break. She had left it alone, figuring that the two of them would figure it out themselves.

Except then Rin had gone back to England, and Rider… was not happy.

In the meantime, Rin had managed to prevent choking. "Well," she said weakly. "Um. I'm… glad to hear that."

"Mmm." Sakura popped a chip into her mouth, rather liked the flavor. "When do you plan on coming home again? I think she'd like seeing you."

Rin stumbled over her words. It would have been entertaining, if not for how clearly obvious it was that she was utterly out of her element. "I wasn't planning to come home for awhile, actually. The training's been more intense…"

Sakura gave her sister a look.

Rin slowly wilted into her seat.

Okay. So clearly, trying to dance around the subject in the hopes that Rin would talk about it wasn't going to work. It was time to be a little more direct.

"Nee-san, be honest with me. What do you think of Rider?"

Rin blinked, caught off guard by this. After a moment of thought, she shrugged and bit into her sandwich again. "Well, I think she's very pretty."

"… And?"

"Her hair is nice."

"…. Anything else?"

"She has very lovely eyes. Looks quite fetching with those glasses."

_"….. Nee-san," _Sakura growled.

"I'm answering the question!"

"I was not asking for a physical description!"

"Then you should have been more specific!"

"Nee-san, you're acting like a child. Something clearly happened, but I can't help if you won't tell me what it is!"

"I told you I _don't want to talk about it._" Rin said, anger starting to leak into her own voice.

Sakura blinked, briefly taken aback by the emotion in her sister's voice. "... fine. But this isn't over."

Rin sighed. "I'm... look. I'm sorry I snapped at you, it's just this whole thing is... very complicated. And personal."

"I'm supposed to be your sister. You should be able to trust me." Sakura replied.

"I _do _trust you, I swear. It's just... I'm still getting some things sorted out in my head. And I just... I really don't want to think about it right now. At all."

Sakura sighed, smiling a bit sadly. "All right. I'll leave it alone... for now."

"I promise that when I'm ready to talk about it, it will be to you."

"... as long as you also promise that you'll be ready to talk about it sometime within our lives."

"... ... ... ... oh, hey, look! Someone left a newspaper!" Rin said. "Oh no, a murder made the front page headlines! How awful!"

Sakura sighed again. _Such a twit_.

"... ... ... this actually _is_ pretty awful..." Rin said, her voice suddenly thoughtful. "Ugh... poor girl. They're saying she was mugged, but the description of the wounds sounds more like a vampire attack to me. But... if she was bitten, then why didn't she rise... this doesn't make sense." Rin reached into her coat pocket and removed a pair of glasses, balancing them on her face.

Sakura blinked at this. "You wear..."

"Only when I'm working." Rin murmured. "This... hmmmmmm. This doesn't add up. Maybe I should try to sneak a look at the crime scene. Or..."

"Isn't that illegal, nee-san?" Sakura asked.

"...well, technically. But..."

"And you aren't the Overseer here, Nee-san."

"... true. But..."

"And she didn't rise as one of the Dead, so it couldn't actually have been a vampire anyway."

"... ... ..." Rin sighed in defeat. "Fine. You have a point. It's probably just a crazy who took a weird knife to her throat."

"Good girl." Sakura said primly. "... now, about this store I saw on the way here..."

Rin sighed. That headache was coming back strong.

* * *

He stayed to the shadows.

He hadn't exactly been subtle in his... accident...

_Murder, call it what it is you weakling_

...the previous night. He didn't know what kind of evidence he had left, but he had to assume it was enough to find out who he was. He couldn't go home, couldn't access his bank accounts, couldn't look for anyone he knew.

And he found, oddly enough, that the second was what mattered most to him now. He needed that money. Needed enough to get by, enough to... he just needed more. As much as he could get. Any way he could get it. He just _needed _it, an aching, unspeakable desire coursing through his blood...

He needed more. Just a bit more.

But for that, he needed money. Quite a lot of it. And even in his twisted, fragmenting mind, he knew that the best place to find that was... on someone else.

He stayed in the shadows, and watched her. It wasn't the same effortless stalking of last night when he had pursued...

_Murdered, you murdered her you psychotic animal_

... the other woman, but it was similar enough. She was bright and shining and chipper. Quite obviously a tourist and quite obviously one with a good bit of money, judging by the shopping bags. She was unaware, off her guard, not a care in the world. She was safe and secure, in the middle of a thousand people on the busy streets of London Town.

He wouldn't even need to hurt her. She wasn't paying attention, and he could see the bulge of a wallet in her jeans pocket. He could just slip up behind her, slide it out and run. He was falling apart, but his body was still strong enough for that.

He wouldn't hurt her at all. That made up for something, he was sure. That proved he was still a good person, at heart. He couldn't help what he needed to do in order to survive, but he wouldn't hurt someone he didn't have to.

_You already have_

He wouldn't lose control again. Wouldn't hurt anyone else. He was still a good person.

Right?

* * *

"So! I'm thinking shoes, are you thinking shoes?" Sakura asked.

"... shoe shopping. You're really thinking of getting shoes to bring on an international flight with you." Rin asked in disbelief.

"No." Sakura said with a slight pout. "... yes. But they're _European _shoes!"

"You still have to carry them." Rin said. "The Europeanness doesn't make it weigh less."

"... I know. It's just that they're... new." Sakura said with a sheepish smile. "I like new things. Seeing them, feeling them. I want to experience all the things I missed, all the things the world has to offer! Is that wrong?"

Rin's smile turned from teasing to genuine. "No. Not in the slightest."

And then a man jumped out of the alley. His movements were erratic, inhuman, but shockingly _fast_. Without a word, he passed behind Sakura like a wraith...

And she got the new experience of having her wallet stolen.

She didn't enjoy it.

For a few seconds, the girls were silent, wondering if they had just seen what they'd seen.

"Um... nee-san, that man, I think he stole my..." Sakura said, a bit flustered.

"Stay here, I'mma kick his ass," Rin said simply, before breaking into a sprint.

Sakura considered the situation briefly, looking at her many bags. She couldn't just _leave _them, but clearly if Rin didn't want her to follow, she needed to follow.

Picking a random person from off the street, she patted him on the shoulder. "Are you trustworthy?"

"... um... yes?"

"You look like you are, so I'm going to believe you." Sakura said. "I need you to do something very important. Life and death."

"... okay...?"

"Watch these bags, please. I'll be back shortly." And with that, she sprinted after Rin.

"... ... ... ... huh?" The hapless young man said.

* * *

He ran, the blood pumping in his ears, his heart beating so hard he thought it would burst.

God. This was why he needed more, didn't they see? He couldn't take this. Couldn't experience the thrill of running straight up the side of building on pure speed alone, then go back to being so... so _human. _

It was better to be a monster. Nothing hurt when he was like that.

_Not even the guilt._

And so he ran. He ran until his muscles burned, and cursed them for burning. He dodged among the crowds and cursed himself for being so painfully slow that they could _see _him. He ran because at this point, that thrill, that sensation was all he had left in the miserable wreck of his life.

He had to have more.

There would be more. He knew there would be more. He ran towards the old, derelict warehouse where he had, a few days...

_A lifetime_

... ago paid a lot of money to a group of smiling young man with worn clothes and shiny guns, and been handed the crimson vial that had ended his life.

* * *

Rin was getting annoyed.

She was fast. Very fast. Using magic to reinforce her legs, there was no way a normal pickpocket should have been able to keep ahead of her. Much less _losing _her in this damnable crowd! She wasn't even sure which way he'd gone at the last intersection, and...

"He went right!" Sakura shouted, coming up behind her.

"... _I told you to wait behind!" _

"I didn't listen!" Sakura said.

"... Dammit." Rin couldn't be angry when she just _admitted _it like that.

"We should run after him!" Sakura said helpfully.

"Just... stay behind me in case this gets ugly, okay?"

"It's _my _wallet! You should stay behind _me!_"

"... Let's just see if we can even find him." Rin said, noticing they had started to attract a small crowd of spectators even as they sprinted. Maybe this wasn't the best time to argue.

"... it _is _my wallet though." Sakura muttered.

"Just run!"

* * *

The crowds thinned. The streets grew dirtier, the buildings older. And still he ran. Not for any fear he was being followed, no... his mind had degraded to the point he could no longer feel anything but _desperation. _

_More, more, I need more..._

Oh, of course, on some level he was _aware _of being followed. Even with the distance between them and his fading senses, he could faintly hear the footsteps that told him he was being pursued. Had he still been his old self, he might have worried about how well two beautiful young women would fare in this kind of neighborhood.

But he hadn't been his old self in what felt like an eternity.

So he didn't care.

When he saw it, his heart jumped. The old, crumbling warehouse was to him a dear friend, the gateway to everything that he had come to love about himself in the past few days. Forcing himself to slow down in spite of his desperate need to _go faster, get it now, hurry, hurry, hurry_, he knew that his dealer wouldn't take kindly to him just bursting in like a beast.

His dealer gave him what he wanted, so he always did his best to behave.

He slowed to a trot, still moving quickly, and stepped through the sagging doorway.

There was nobody inside... and there wouldn't be. At least not at first, not when it might be unsafe. There wasn't much of his mind left, but he recalled this. He rapped his knuckles against a rusted pipe, three times. Then a pause, and two more knocks.

He waited ten long, agonizing minutes.

The door in the back of the building swung open, and a man entered. He was the very definition of non-descript... medium height, medium build. Brown hair, brown eyes. He wore a simple gray shirt, jeans, and a brown coat; nothing that would catch the eye. Without a word, he set down a briefcase, drew a key from his pocket and in a very, faint clipped accent that _might _have been Scottish, or Irish, or Welsh, or... anything, really, said, "Product and dose. Cash only."

"... B-Bloodlust. One hit." He said. He wanted more, desperately, but the girl's wallet didn't have enough to be going crazy. One hit could get him the money to get another, and another, and...

The nondescript man paused. "Expensive. Street value's gone up in the last week."

"I can pay! Just... I _need _it, give it to me...!"

The man in the coat nodded, putting the key back in his pocket and drawing a cell phone. He sent a text message, and waited.

Another ten minutes passed. He was swaying on his feet, his blood burning, he could barely see, he _needed _this why did it have to be so long...

Five more men entered the warehouse, and unlike the first, they were _very _much a standout. Mostly because each proceeded to reach into their coats and draw a large, black, and rather effective-looking handgun. Illegal as Hell in Britain, of course, but then these weren't exactly 'nice men'.

The man with the briefcase unlocked it, and drew a small red vial. "One dose, 3 milliliters. That will be two hundred pounds. No Euros or US dollars, this isn't a bank. And if you even think of taking the shot here, you die where you stand."

The man smiled, his entire being utterly consumed by the sight of that tiny vial of red liquid.

"That will be fine..." He whispered.

* * *

"I think we're seeing something we shouldn't be seeing," Sakura whispered, her eyes glued to the transaction that was taking place in front of her.

Rin nodded, trying to think fast and keeping one hand gripping her sister's shirt collar in case she needed to yank her along. She wasn't surprised to see gangs doing drug deals in an abandoned warehouse like this; a little disappointed that the movies got _some _facts right, but not terribly surprised.

No, what worried her was the drug itself. It was only from a distance, so she couldn't be _sure_, but it had a name like 'Bloodlust' and she could have sworn…

_It… it looks like blood._

Shit. What the _hell _had they stumbled into?

"Sakura." Her voice was low, her eyes on the men in front of her. "We're leaving now. Quietly. I'll buy you a new wallet, but we need to _go_. If they see us…"

Sakura nodded and swallowed, wincing only a little as Rin gently tugged her closer to her side. The door wasn't too far, thankfully, only a few feet, they just needed to be careful in how they moved and pray the men stayed focus on their business. They hadn't been noticed so far, so if they just managed to keep quiet…

At that moment a shrill, almost disgustingly cheerful little tune sounded from Sakura's jean pocket, shattering the silence.

Several pairs of eyes swung around and focused on the sisters.

_"… Dammit, Sakura."_

Sakura laughed weakly.


	3. First Blood

**Chapter Two: First Blood**

There was a few seconds after the cell started to ring that nobody could quite figure out how to react. A moment of bizarre, almost magical tranquility as the whole world was silent save the cheery tune of Sakura's phone.

Finally, she reached into her pocket, flipped it open, and said "Hello?"

"_Find whoever that is and kill them!_" Screamed the man with the briefcase.

Rin stared dumbly at her sister. "... Really?"

"Well, it was ringing." Sakura said. "Oh, hello senpai!"

"_Run!_" Rin snapped, grabbing Sakura's hand and dragging her into a sprint. She had counted five men, all armed, and she wasn't exactly loaded for war. To make things worse, they were mundane... if she and Sakura used magic against them, and it somehow got back to the Clock Tower, Rin could look forward to another trial, and she didn't see this one ending well. And so it was that her mind settled firmly on strategy number one: Run Like Hell.

The men chasing them had the same idea, unfortunately. Rin and Sakura were faster than random thugs, but they were _not _faster than bullets.

Guns, Rin discovered, were much louder in person than in movies. More of an explosion than a pop. She was not enthused by this.

"_Faster!_" She screeched, dragging Sakura down an alley. They couldn't go in a straight line or they'd get cut down.

"Yes, we're fine!" Sakura shouted into her phone. "Just... watching a movie."

A bullet slammed into the wall next to Sakura's head as she ran.

"A 3-D movie!" She said. "Very lifelike."

"_Would you put away the stupid phone_?" Rin shrieked.

"Hmmmmm? Oh, yes, nee-san believes very strongly in being quiet at the movies! It's very important to her!" Sakura said.

"_Dive!_" Rin screamed, dragging Sakura into a leaping slide beneath a parked truck blocking their exit from the alley.

"Yes... ULF!... that was her too. The hotel has a pool, you see, and she wants to go swimming after the movie, so..."

"_Dammit, Sakura_!"

Sakura laughed weakly. "She might be a bit stressed from school, senpai, I'm sure it's nothing..."

* * *

So much had gone wrong...

The vial had been in his hands. He'd had everything he wanted, everything he needed. And then it had all gone so very, very wrong.

The dealer's expression was as bland and unremarkable as ever, even as he leveled his gun. "You were followed. You brought _witnesses_."

"_No! _I... it was an accident, I don't even _know_ them..."

"And that changes what they saw? That changes what they can tell the authorities, if they get away?" The dealer said, his tone horrifyingly reasonable. "The reasons don't matter. I have people I have to answer to, and they will not be happy. And when they're not happy, I'm not happy. And when I'm not happy..."

Two shots rang out. A burning weight in his chest, a sudden aching fatigue that spread through his entire body, so cold, so _cold, I wasn't shot, I can't have been shot that doesn't happen, I'm a normal person, I don't die like this I don't..._

"... well, you can guess the rest." the dealer said. He picked up his briefcase, and began crossing the room to reclaim the vial. No sense leaving more evidence than needed, after all; someone would be around shortly to burn this entire warehouse to the ground, but it was impossible to predict what might survive.

The man lay on the ground, staring up at the ceiling more in disbelief than in pain, darkness creeping in around the edges of his vision. Even as his body began to slow, his mind continued working in overdrive; _I don't die like this, I wake up in my bed and the whole last month was a long nightmare, I never took the first dose never became a monster never died alone in some dank hell like an animal... I don't die like this. __I..._

_So if..._

_So if there's a way... to live... I should take it. Because... because it's all a dream, and it doesn't matter anymore..._

He couldn't lift his arms. Couldn't breathe. But the syringe was still grasped in his hand... the fingers were numb, but he could move them... and before the girls-

_those self-centered bitches, why couldn't they have just left well enough alone_

- had come, he had slipped the cover off the needle. He couldn't reach a vein, but Bloodlust was... an odd drug. The first thing you always heard was that the vein really didn't matter all that much, as long as it got into the blood...

He twisted the needle in his fingers, nearly fumbling it, until he felt the tiny, almost imperceptible prick of the needle piercing his skin.

* * *

Rin kept a hand against Sakura's back, her fingers grasping tightly at the fabric of her shirt in case she needed to drag the younger girl quickly. She strained her ears, trying to listen. It seemed that they'd managed to escape, for the time being. She couldn't hear anyone coming, or any gunshots…

"Nee-san," Sakura whispered. "Senpai says hi."

"… Hi, Shirou." Rin sighed, not knowing when her life had changed from a rather mundane student one—even if she was a magical student—to something right out of action movies.

_Not the first time it's happened, to be fair._

"Nee-san says hi. Oh, um, why is my voice so soft? Well, we're at a really dramatic part of the movie…."

"Sakura, the first thing I'm doing when we get back to my dorm is _throwing your phone away_."

Sakura actually looked wounded at that, but Rin ignored her and cautiously bellied forward a few inches, peering out. No one was around now; if any of the thugs were nearby, they were in another area of the warehouse.

Now was the best chance they had.

"Come on." She crawled out carefully and got to her feet, offering a hand to her sister and pulling her up. As distracting as it was to see Sakura talk and run at the same time, she was now quiet enough to not be of any real harm to them. Rin nudged her gently, herding her towards the exit as she made small noises of agreement now. Apparently Shirou had switched over to telling her what was going on at home while she was away.

She was so focused on her sister that she didn't see them; they were dressed in dark colors and moving quietly, far more familiar with the lay-out of the building than she was, and having spotted them from a distance. Rin wasn't even aware of their presence until she glanced back, almost on whim.

They were already taking aim, right at Sakura.

_Shit—_

* * *

The gunshot was deafening, at such close range. Sakura jumped, feeling a chill run down her spine, and her phone clattered to the ground as she lost her grip on it. Stunned, heart pounding, she whirled around.

"… Nee-san?" It was practically a whimper.

Rin weaved dangerously in front of her, blue eyes dazed. The bullet hadn't hurt nearly as much as it probably should have—one of the benefits of reinforcement—but it still hurt _far _worse than she had expected. "Ow," she managed eloquently, before her legs finally gave out on her and she crumbled.

For a long, long moment Sakura simply stared at her sister, pale. The men were approaching calmly now, guns raised.

Her eyes hardened, narrowed. Leaning down, she picked up her phone again, ignoring the sudden panic in Shirou's voice. "I'm sorry, Senpai, I have to go," she said icily. "Something came up."

She hung up before he could reply.

Sakura fell to her knees, throwing her arms around Rin. The men were making their approach openly and calmly now, getting close enough for a sure kill. Secure in the knowledge that their prey was no longer in a position to flee, the purple haired girl's mind broken by the fall of her companion. They were seasoned killers, and had seen such things many times. Once someone got hurt, once it became _real_, those who had never faced violence before often simply froze up.

This train of thought was unfortunate, on their part.

Sakura was not unused to violence. She had not frozen up in any meaning of the word.

And she had not thrown her arms around Rin to give her a hug.

Her hands deftly slipped under Rin's light jacket, seeking the hidden pouches she knew her sister always carried. She found it quickly enough, and slid her hand inside to be rewarded by something rock-hard, smooth as glass, and oddly warm under her fingers. Rin had wanted them to run, to not risk a confrontation they would need to use magecraft to win.

But Rin was hurt, and Sakura was no longer in any mood to flee.

She slipped the small azure gem into her palm, and concentrated. To use another's magical tool was difficult, but they were sisters, their mana was similar, and Sakura had always had a gift for binding. Arcs of black and violet energy ran between her fingers, slipping into the gem. The gem's magical inner light turned briefly dark, before redoubling in brightness as the stone began to release a soft and rather menacing hum not entirely unlike an engine about to overheat.

The leader of the thugs took careful aim.

Sakura threw the gem.

Those of the gunmen who were still conscious, afterward, were divided on what exactly had happened. Most _swore _the unassuming little girl in the tacky shirt had somehow thrown a grenade at them. But one or two stated, with a somewhat haunted look in their eyes, that this made no sense; she had been holding a _rock_. And it wasn't really an explosion, either; more like a small _tornado _had simply... appeared in the middle of them, hurling the hardened killers across the block like bowling pins.

The only thing certain was that by the time any of them were in _any _condition to chase anyone, the two girls were gone.

* * *

He didn't even fight the urge to laugh.

The power was there, just as he'd remembered it. It thrummed in his blood, even here under the sunlight. His body was covered with blood, both his own and that of the tiny man who had dared to strike him, to _wound _him.

Tearing his head off had been so easy. Like breaking a toothpick.

Still, things were not ideal. The simple metal pellets in his chest no longer hurt him, but the blood he had lost from them made him feel weaker than he should have been with the Bloodlust in his veins. He had drank for as long as he could from his latest victim's blood, but he was still so thirsty, and the scent of the blood that covered him was not helping matters.

It smelled _so good_, and that was only a pale shadow of how it _tasted..._

_More. I need more. _

Pausing, he tilted his head back, breathing deep. The scent of blood clung to his body, but his ability to sense it while he was like this was beyond that of any predator in nature. He could smell more, spilled nearby. It smelled sweet.

Young.

He smiled, a line of crimson drool slipping down his chin. _Ahhhhh... my little friends. I should thank them for the wallet. _

He leapt from roof to roof, following the scent of young, fresh blood. He was so, _so _thirsty...

* * *

"_Are you an idiot?"_

Rin laughed weakly and immediately regretted it. Laughing hurt a lot when you had a piece of lead bruising your flesh. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

Sakura was fuming as she helped her sister walk, one of Rin's arms slung over her shoulder and gently gripping her hip to help her limp along. Thankfully, the bullet had just grazed her head, even if it had still been enough to make her bleed. Small streams of red dripped between her hair, but her eyes had cleared.

"That still doesn't—that was a _bullet_! A bullet! Even with reinforcement…"

"It only grazed me. Knocked me around a bit. I'm fine." Rin's words were short and to the point, as if her brain was still a little too rattled to connect them into longer, more meaningful sentences.

Sakura sighed, giving it up. "Just focus on walking," she muttered. "I'm really not strong enough to try and drag you back to safety."

Rin didn't say anything to that anymore, but her arm tightened gently around Sakura's shoulders, a light squeeze. It was wordless and a clumsy attempt at conveying a message, but it worked all the same.

Slightly, Sakura relaxed. She smiled, just a little.

"You realize, I'm still tending to that wound when we get out of here."

Rin snorted. "It's just a scratch."

"It's a _bullet _scratch! It's... a bullet, right to your head, and you're _bleeding_..."

"I noticed."

Rin and Sakura stopped in their tracks, eyes widening. "Nee-san... did you suddenly get a man's voice?"

"Hell-o, ladies..." Purred a deep male voice. As one, the two girls turned to face him.

They regretted this.

He was clinging to the brick wall of an overhanging building like a gigantic, humanoid spider. His clothes were caked, from head to foot, in still-fresh blood, and his face was set in a grin that contained equal parts hunger and madness. His bright red eyes were fixed firmly on the girls, and the look in them made it very clear he did not mean them well.

_Oh, shit. The guy from the warehouse. He's a damn vampire? _Rin thought. This was just... _cosmically _unfair. Out loud, she hissed, "Sakura... can you run?"

"No, but I can take another gem from your coat and blow him to..." Sakura began.

"We're in no shape to fight a vampire, and if you can get away by leaving me, you're damn well gonna... wait. You took one of my gems? Without even _asking?_" Rin asked. "Those are _expensive,_ dammit! Don't just throw them willy-nilly! I swear, you are _such _a little sister!"

Sakura slid her hand into Rin's coat, and withdrew a tiny red gem. "I'll get you new ones?"

"Yes, you _wi-_" Rin began, before being cut off by the explosion as Sakura's (HA! Like Hell it was 'Sakura's') gem slammed into the brick wall where the vampire clung, exploding in a burst of ruby flame that filled the alley with light and searing heat. Brick dust and ash rained down over the girls as the blast cleared, the section where the vampire had clung reduced to charcoal.

Which would have been _great _if the vampire had been caught in the blast.

The blood soaked man had released his grip on the wall and fallen to the street before the gem impacted, landing with feline grace as the ash and rubble rained down around him.

And then he charged.

His movements were fast, insanely so. Rin had never seen a real vampire, but she felt that probably the only thing she'd ever seen that was quicker was a Servant.

And he damn well _hit _like one too. His rush was centered on Sakura, but he swatted Rin aside as he struck her, sending both sisters flying in opposite directions. Rin tried to adjust, land on her feet, but she slammed painfully into a parked car, lights flashing behind her eyes.

But it was Sakura who had taken the brunt of the strike. The creature had judged her the greater danger and struck her dead-on, hurling her down the length of the street. He then leapt after her with the same superhuman speed, catching her in midair, and slamming her down onto the street. She couldn't even let out a gasp of pain, as a hand like a vise clamped down on her neck to pin her to the pavement.

The vampire licked his lips, and opened his mouth.

Something invisible and _burning _struck him in the back like a bullet the size of a fist, hurling from the fallen girl. He rolled, dodging a second blast which potted a hole in the concrete of the sidewalk, leaping to his feet.

The other girl, her eyes burning with rage and her face cold as stone, had her arm raised in his direction. A strange, intricate series of green symbols glowed brilliantly upon it, shining right through her shirt and coat. "That. Hurt." She growled.

He snarled right back, baring his teeth- _teeth? No fangs?_ Rin noted, her mind analyzing the situation with the same natural keenness she used in the lab. And he wasn't quite... the _same _as when he'd taken Sakura's wallet. _Something is just not right here..._

"This will hurt _more_..." He growled out, the words barely comprehensible.

Rin smirked wickedly, the Magic Crest on her arm burning even more brilliantly. "_Yes. It will_."

What she had released before was a concentrated sniper-bullet of Gandr. This was more like a Minigun. Dozens of the shots, and not one holding back; each would have felt like getting slammed with a tire iron, enough to shatter bone. And the creature charged right through it, taking a hit, a dozen hits, his body rocked wildly by the impacts, but his charge just not _stopping..._

She couldn't stop either then. More power, as much as she could force through the crest; she would tear him to pieces if nothing else could do it. _Fall, you son of a..._

His hand clamped down on her crest arm, twisting it painfully to the side. His other snapped across her face, pinning her to the car she was pressed against. He wasn't smiling, anymore; the only expression on his face was purest rage. "You... _you..._" He snarled.

Rin blinked. "Your eyes. They're not red anymore..." As last words they were pretty pathetic, but she couldn't think of anything better.

"That's... no, no it... it shouldn't be wearing off..." He stammered. The strength left his hands, and Rin slid from his grasp; more than that, he just seemed _smaller_. Diminished. The effortless grace and impossible speed seemed to simply drain away, and he fell to his knees. On his chest, beneath the caked on blood, two holes opened and new, sticky wetness began to flow from them.

"What the _Hell...?_" Rin muttered.

The man looked up at her, his expression pleading and lost. "It... it wasn't... supposed to be like this. It wasn't... I... I... I wanna wake up now..."

_This was never a nightmare, and you deserve everything you're getting. _

The vampire who was no longer a vampire smiled sadly. "Yeah... yeah, I guess so."

And quietly, almost gently, he died.


End file.
